I led a group of high school girls for four years, and there was a time that I was sure one of them would be married before I was. I felt stuck in my singleness, and it was just a matter of time before one...

26 October, 2017

On the Mary/Martha pendulum, I’m a Martha. My feet hit the floor in the morning with my to-do list filling my head, strategically thinking about how I will get all of it done as efficiently as possible. It’s how I am wired up....

25 October, 2017

In Exodus 18, we find Moses trying to care for his people alone. Jethro, his father-in-law, steps in to provide wisdom and advice on how to best take responsibility and care for others in the way that God calls us to....

24 October, 2017

When you first enter college it feels like a never-ending season—as if those four years will last forever. Graduation seems a lifetime away as your attention narrows in on classes, organizations, and new relationships. Then one day you find yourself walking across a stage to...

20 October, 2017

The summer after I graduated college I did two things that challenged me in very positive ways. One was spending ten days in Tanzania, Africa, where I encountered true joy and thankfulness in a way I’d never seen before. The third world is an incredible...

19 October, 2017

Our words—they can bring life or death to another person, encouragement or discouragement. Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue can bring life or death; those who love to talk will reap the consequences." ...

18 October, 2017

It is natural for us to want to distance ourselves from the Israelites. However, we find that Exodus 16 reveals the condition of the human heart—hearts that forget, cling to nearer idols, run to comfort, and doubt God’s provision even in the face of His...

17 October, 2017

“As Pharaoh approached, the people of Israel looked up and panicked when they saw the Egyptians overtaking them.” —Exodus 14:10. I’m not going to lie: if I stood where the Israelites were standing, pressed between the sea and the mountains (both equally impassable) and saw...

12 October, 2017

I am a person who values truth. I cannot stand being lied to. I believe the best relationships are built on honesty and it is one of my goals in life to be as honest as I can possibly be. All of that being said,...

11 October, 2017

Throughout our lives, God continually shows us our need for Him by putting us in situations that challenge our control, and our response to uncertainty reveals the condition of our faith. ...

10 October, 2017

Amid a trial or a difficult season, it can be challenging to remember the Lord’s faithfulness. When I feel like I am struggling or being tempted, my initial response seems to sound more like, “God, where are you? Why are you being silent?” rather than...

05 October, 2017

I’m not a rescuer. Never have been—or at least I didn’t think I was. My parents didn’t rescue. They were “we pulled ourselves up by the bootstraps” kind of people and they raised my sister and me to be the same way....

04 October, 2017

The exodus is the Old Testament picture of the cross for us. The Israelites, once slaves of the Egyptians, are freed from slavery, lavished in riches, and prepared to reconstitute their identity as a new nation. Despite Pharoah’s attempts to thwart God’s promise to rescue...

03 October, 2017

Discipline has never been my forte. I prefer to identify as free-spirit driven, or self-control challenged. I’m not one of those crazies like my best friend who pops eagerly out of bed at 5:30am when someone suggests a 10-mile jog (Why would you do that...

29 September, 2017

I am not a gamer. I wish I were just being self-deprecating, but I've been telling my brother for years that I think there's some brain connection that allows you to work a controller, and I was not born with it....

28 September, 2017

Confession: I’m horrible with directions. And when I say that, I mean, horrible. Like, my-GPS-is-my-lifeline kind of horrible. There have been a few times when I have pulled over on the side of the road because my vision was blurred with actual tears welling up...

27 September, 2017

Because we serve a benevolent, kind, and all-wise King, justice is served in His sovereignty and perfection. We are freed from carrying the weight of this broken world because He has already stepped in to make it right on our behalf. Trusting in Him as...

26 September, 2017

After Hurricane Harvey hit the Texas area earlier this fall, one of the eeriest things I heard about was the floating ant mounds that were being spotted in the floodwaters....

22 September, 2017

At this point in the Exodus narrative, the first three plagues have occurred over the land of Egypt, and Pharaoh has not budged in his stance of holding the Israelites captive (Exodus 7:3-5)....

21 September, 2017

I tend to have some (or a lot of) freak-out moments. Google is not my friend, and I often wish WebMD wasn’t even a thing. If you’ve ever experienced a panic attack then you know when that feeling comes over you, the only thing you...

20 September, 2017

We often buy into the idea of our own personal sovereignty rather than acknowledging the only Sovereign. Our culture has created a narrative with us at the center of everything. Instead of trusting in a God whose character does not change, we attempt to trust...

19 September, 2017

Lee and Joy Foster began visiting Grace Church with their three sons a little over two years ago. Their two oldest boys, Sam and Myles, have autism, and the church setting had been challenging for them in the past. Myles, 13, was apprehensive about joining...

18 September, 2017

This weekend Matt Williams presented Matt Gaymon as a candidate for the governing elder board of Grace Church. Matt has been faithfully serving the church for 15 years, and we are looking forward to the possibility of this addition to our church leadership. As part...

16 September, 2017

When I think about the different, clearly defined stages of my life thus far—middle school, high school, college—I can easily see how in each of those stages I had identifiers: things that I clung to with everything to ensure consistency and stability in my understanding...

15 September, 2017

When I see clear evidence of God’s power and direction, it’s easy for me to trust and believe Him. Exodus 4:29-30 begins with the miraculous signs Moses performs to show the Israelites God’s power, authority, and control. And the Israelites respond appropriately to this display...

14 September, 2017